National Board of Revenue has achieved only 22% of its target to bring tax evading house and business firm owners under income tax net through door-to-door surveys and spot assessments in a 12-month period ending in November last year.
After an instruction from NBR, the field offices across the country began the drive in December 2012 targeting 2.57 lakh tax dodgers owing houses and business firms.
During the period, 57,564 were netted and a total of Tk1.78 crore was collected. As the programme could not bring “satisfactory” result, the revenue board is now planning fresh surveys beginning from next month to net at least 2 lakh.
In an effort to widen tax net, NBR gave the instruction of the surveys.
Although the NBR set a target of bringing 2.57 lakh under the income tax net in December 2012, the field offices could identify 1.43 lakh tax dodgers of the kind.
Among the identified dodgers, 70% were businessmen, 25% house owners and around 5% shop owners.
Twenty-nine field offices conducted the survey, particularly in some selected areas across the country.
Only two offices - Dhaka Tax Zone 1 and Khulna Tax Zone Office – were able to achieve their targets. The tax offices were given an annual targets for the year ending in November 2013.
NBR already served notices to its field offices which had failed to meet the targets seeking explanation behind the failures.
Notices have been served to the tax evaders in the respective areas to comply with tax law. If the tax evaders do not pay taxes, legal actions will be taken against them, warned the NBR officials.
In their surveys, the NBR offices compiled information from local government offices, Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB), utility service providers and other related organisations.
According to NBR estimates, at least 60 lakh capable people are out of income tax net while 5 lakh business firms are not paying value added tax (Vat).
